Duke sophomore Michelle Cooper announced on Monday that she’ll be foregoing her remaining college eligibility to begin her professional soccer career in 2023.

“This was such a difficult decision, but one that I made with my heart and the people I trust dearly,” the 20-year-old wrote in a statement. The Blue Devils’ 2022 season ended in a quarterfinal loss to Alabama in November, in which Cooper scored a brace.

Transitioning to the professional game won’t be a huge leap for Cooper, who scored 19 goals and registered 11 assists this season, leading Duke in both categories by a significant margin.

She also captained the U-20 U.S. women’s national team in both the Concacaf Championship and the World Cup, scoring eight goals in Concacaf qualifying to win the Golden Boot as well as the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. She scored her final U-20 goal in the World Cup in August, as the U.S. bowed out of a very difficult group stage.

THERE IT IS! 🇺🇸🤩

Michelle Cooper scores the first goal for the @USYNT in the U-20 FIFA Women's World Cup! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Jc85BtShs6

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 11, 2022

Cooper’s credentials place her in the upper echelon of young American-born talent, but her jump to the pros is also a larger reflection of the way the sport is changing.

Traditionally, even the top women’s college players would sometimes choose to stay in school for their full eligibility, valuing a college scholarship and degree over a professional salary. But as salary opportunities grow year after year in the professional game, norms have begun to change, and Cooper might be just the first of several underclassmen this year to make the same decision.

Tierna Davidson and Sophia Smith left Stanford early to become the first picks in their respective NWSL College Drafts, but both had already featured for the U.S. women’s national team, lending more weight to the decision. Cooper has yet to be called into the U.S. senior team, but she joins a growing group of prospects who have chosen to develop outside of the college game.

Ashley Sanchez (since capped with the USWNT), Brianna Pinto and Mia Fishel made similar decisions to leave college after their junior years. Emily Madril of Florida State recently made a unique jump of her own, forgoing her college eligibility to sign with the NWSL directly, and then going on loan before joining the league through the 2023 College Draft.

Adding to the ease of the process are Name, Image and Likeness rights, which allow college players to sign with an agency without having to make a quick decision to give up NCAA eligibility. Cooper, before her big announcement, had already signed with Wasserman Group (which represents a number of USWNT and NWSL players) and New Balance.

Fans in the U.S., however, will have to wait to see if Cooper follows Pinto and Sanchez to the NWSL, or if she takes a page from Fishel and Catarina Macario’s book and jumps at an opportunity abroad. U.S.-based clubs have the benefit of the NWSL’s new CBA, but Cooper wouldn’t yet qualify for allocation money — setting her salary limit at a non-allocated max contract, which is currently $75,000.

The NWSL also doesn’t have the benefit of player choice for those entering the league; even top talent has to opt into the College Draft. Unlike basketball, the NWSL is competing with leagues that don’t adhere to parity rules, and they occasionally lose talent that wants to be in control of their own destiny.

Whether she hears her name called on the NWSL Draft stage in Philadelphia in January or makes a splashy signing abroad, Cooper is ready for the next level. Fans will just have to wait and see where she takes her talents.

Thank you Duke🤍 pic.twitter.com/6YNjb2cjeV

— michelle cooper (@michelle1cooper) December 5, 2022

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.